When I think about the stimulus plan President Obama recently signed into law, I cannot help but recognize the missed opportunities associated with this legislative behemoth. Missed opportunities were certain to arise, of course, after the 1,079 page bill was made public only the night before the final vote. As House Minority Leader John Boehner pointed out, not a single member of Congress had read the bill prior to voting on it. And while this may be a more common practice than we should be comfortable with, it may help to explain some of the inconsistencies within the bill. There is no question that government dollars needed to be spent – monetary policy has brought us only so far, and now is the appropriate time for fiscal policy to take a turn. Sadly, I fear that Congress and President Obama have missed their opportunity to make that turn count, and in the end all this package will have given us is a higher national debt.

Jindal’s Moment
By Philip Klein
The American Spectator Blog
February 24, 2009

In addition to this being President Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress, it’s also Bobby Jindal’s chance to introduce himself to a large national audience in delivering the Republican response. According to the Washington Post, Jindal will be delivering the speech from the governor’s mansion in Baton Rouge, which is more or less a typical way to deliver the response. I think he would have been better off taking a page out of Christine Todd Whitman’s book. Back in 1995, when she was the tax cutting governor still in good graces with the party, she delivered her response in front of an audience in the New Jersey state assembly chamber, which mitigated the natural advantage that President Clinton had by delivering a speech in front of Congress with all its pageantry.

That we are facing an energy crisis in the near future can no longer be denied. The projected 20% increase in electricity demand by 2030 is much closer than we think given the time it takes to bring new energy online. Now, another concern is finally coming to the fore; “clean energy” has evolved from a mantra – something we say we want – into a market – something we are actually willing to buy and invest in. Every facet of our economy is pursuing energy sources that will help us meet our country’s burgeoning demands in an environmentally friendly fashion.

Congratulations! You have been sworn in to the highest office in the land after a hard fought campaign. You victory has changed the face of American politics, literally and figuratively, forever. You and former President Bush showed the world how to achieve a dignified and smooth transition of power. Now comes the hard part: governing.